Recently, LIC Tasmanian District Manager Rowan Priest had the pleasure of accompanying 19 young dairy farmers from Australia on a week-long study tour of New Zealand. The Young Dairy Network (YDN) organised the tour with support from WestVic Dairy. They aimed to provide participants with a first-hand experience of diverse farming practices in New Zealand. While highlighting the innovative practices and technologies that have made New Zealand successful in dairy farming. YDN tour group outside LIC's head office, Newstead Tour overview The tour kicked off with a visit to a 480-cow farm using ..read more

by Simon Worth, LIC Livestock Selection Manager It’s essential LIC customers get access to the most elite dairy bloodlines – genetics that deliver genetic gain on-farm while resulting in easy-care cows that last within the herd. The LIC breeding scheme does its utmost to do justice to the above; the common fundamental is one of balance. The over-arching guideline that LIC’s bull acquisition team relies on is the cooperative’s Livestock Selection Index (LSI). Although closely aligned to the index Breeding Worth (BW), the LSI allows the ability to allocate various weightings to different trai ..read more

Dairy sector production has held strong in the face of difficult climate conditions throughout the 2022/23 season in New Zealand. The annual New Zealand Dairy Statistics report released this week by DairyNZ and Livestock Improvement Corporation (LIC) shows an innovative dairy sector producing well, despite climatic challenges, inflationary pressures, and global supply chain issues. In the 2022/23 season, milk production remained relatively stable with 20.7 billion litres of milk containing 1.87 billion litres of milksolids processed by dairy companies. This represented a 0.4% decrease in litre ..read more

Last week New Zealand dairy co-operative Fonterra announced they’re targeting a 30% intensity reduction in on-farm emissions by 2030 (from a 2018 baseline). LIC is well placed to support farmers to meet this target as 7% of the target is to be achieved through farming best practice with the themes of herd improvement and cow efficiency set to be influential. “That’s where we come in – this announcement gives us a clear mandate to provide solutions to farmers to reduce their emissions intensity. LIC has known the challenges for some time and has been focused on supporting farmers to be pro ..read more

Despite the last year not providing the heat waves we have come to know, it is expected that in time temperatures will rise. This will have an affect on dairy cattle performance and heat stress. Left: A SLICK coat vs right: a normal non-SLICK coat The ‘SLICK’ gene was discovered by LIC scientists in 2014. Cattle carrying the SLICK gene have a short coat and show improved heat tolerance. The SLICK gene has the potential to play a big role in the welfare of dairy cows in the future. Ironically, this gene to keep cows cool was only discovered after LIC scientists first identified a genetic vari ..read more

For those of you who haven’t met me, I’m Hilary Lunn and I’m the new Country Manager for LIC Australia. I moved to Gippsland 18 months ago for the LIC District Manager role and have enjoyed it so much that I’ve decided to stay around. I am now fortunate to be leading the LIC Australia team. My husband and I dairy farmed in Northland, New Zealand, for over 25 years and I also have a long history of working for LIC in New Zealand.  Mike Rose, who has been leading the LIC Australia team for the last seven years has moved into the role of International Business Development Manager to suppo ..read more

One of the highlights of the year for LIC’s breeding team is the recent rounds of on-farm inspections of potential bull dams throughout New Zealand. Following closely is the hosting of our breeders in May (who had a bull included in one or more of the 2022 Premier Sires teams) in Hamilton, New Zealand. Breeders are the ‘engine room’ of the AB industry, so LIC’s Breeders’ Day is an event our team truly enjoys, and it represents an opportunity to show our appreciation to the industry players who contribute so much. The focus on genomic breeding worth is very apparent, but it’s encouraging to se ..read more

A New Zealand pasture-based flexible milking expert is predicting a surge of interest in different milking routines in Australia. Brent Boyce - LIC FarmWise flexible milking expert FarmWise farm consultant Brent Boyce, who fostered and developed the concept of flexible milking options in his home country, toured Australia in May this year and found growing interest in the concept. Mr Boyce, who coined the terms 3-in-2 and 10-in-7 milkings, is encouraging all farmers to look at different options that could create lifestyle and profitability benefits. “It’s a bit foreign for some farmers in ..read more

LIC were delighted to host a group of 14 Australian dairy farmers over a five day intensive study tour, visiting a range of dairy systems and LIC facilities in North Island, New Zealand.  The tour was a great opportunity for the visitors who hailed from Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia to enjoy the company of other progressive farmers while seeing dairying from different perspectives and to learn new things that could help them improve their dairy farming business. With an action packed few days, the group visited various dairy farms in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty area and even ..read more

The exclusivity of entry into the Hall of Fame is reserved for only the most exceptional bulls, having met very demanding criteria. What makes this an even prouder moment is that Sierra’s breeder, Rowan Priest, is also an LIC employee! Not only that, but this bull, cow family and breeder have set a new standard as the only breeder to have ever bred multiple Hall of Fame bulls. Priests Sierra is also the only bull ever to stem from the same cow family as another Hall of Fame bull. Of the five bulls progeny tested from the breeder, three have gone on to become Premier Sires and 2 Hall of Fame i ..read more